Congratulations to Kajulu Blue from Charles Sturt University who have taken out this years IAA 'Big Idea' Award.
Presentations took place yesterday (Monday 26th) at ZenithOptimedia in Sydney.

Having reached the finals KGM Squared from Swinburne University have made the Advertising Major at Swinburne University very proud. A fantastic effort from a team of very talented future Advertising stars - Liam McCarthy, Rachel Kertes, Sarah Guyer and Johanna Myers.

Swinburne University of Technology’s Department of Media and Communication is spending a week working closely with Professor Jacqueline Hitchon, who heads up the Department of Advertising at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.Professor Hitchon, who has spent her career researching and teaching the advertising discipline, will spend time observing advertising classes and tutorials at Swinburne, as well as meeting with a range of media, communication and advertising academics.The Department of Advertising at the University of Illinois was the first advertising department in the USA, established in 1959 by Charles H. Sandage, and is considered by many to be the ‘father of advertising education’.Swinburne Faculty of Health, Arts and Design Associate Dean (Learning Innovation) Michael Wilmore said that the one of main purposes of Professor Hitchon’s visit was to pilot a benchmarking project, designed to assist Swinburne in comparing our programs to those of highly ranking international universities.“The project will help us to identify possibilities for innovation in our curriculum, teaching practice and the student learning experience, as well as possibilities for further collaborations, such as research and staff or student exchange.”Professor Hitchon, who is also chairing a panel at Swinburne’s Advertising Industry Forum today, said that her time at Swinburne had allowed her to exchange ideas and meet colleagues from a range of disciplines and backgrounds.“I have enjoyed learning more about Swinburne, the flexible course offerings available to students and the different types of industry exposure they have access to, as part of their course.”

The International Advertising Association (IAA) has announced the finalist teams in the IAA ‘Big Idea’ 2015 Marketing Communications Competition. The 4 top scoring submissions from the student teams from across Australia are:

“The judging panel was impressed with the standard of entries, especially the high calibre of the documentation and how well every single submission was articulated. It was exciting to see a number of the teams delivering solutions that lived in the digital and publicity space, rather than traditional media. The teams that performed best were the ones that kept their ideas simple, yet impactful. Congratulations to everyone who entered as you all did your universities proud.”

Heather Leembruggen, IAA Australia Chapter President & Chair, says:

“This year’s teams’ submissions from over 100 students from universities and tertiary institutions in NSW, VIC, QLD and WA, all demonstrate research insights, effective ideas, and a range of creative solutions presented with lots of enthusiasm. All who participated in IAA ‘Big Idea’ 2015 can be proud of their work and their contribution to Save the Children Australia. ”